 Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is working with the Forest Gene Conservation Association and the Ontario Butternut Recovery Team to build a strong butternut recovery program across southern Ontario. With the help of numerous partners including the Government of Canada Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk, the Ontario Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, Ferguson Forest Center, MNR Stewardship Councils, Conservation Authorities and most importantly local landowners, RVCA is locating healthy mature Butternut trees and planting vigorous Butternut seedlings through a regional Butternut Recovery Program.
Background
Butternut canker disease is threatening the existence of Butternut across its entire natural range in North America. This fungal disease has been found on more than 99 percent of the Butternut trees in eastern Ontario. There is no known cure for butternut canker disease, but some trees may be resistant to the disease just as some people are more resistant to colds than others. Butternut is classified as an endangered species under the new Ontario Endangered Species Act (ESA 2007) and it is illegal to harm or kill a Butternut tree without a permit. We are encouraging landowners to maintain their healthy Butternut trees to promote natural regeneration and lessen the risk of potentially resistant Butternut being cut down or destroyed. Finding trees that are showing signs of resistance to the canker disease is one of the main goals of this recovery program. A “Recovery Strategy for Butternut” has been drafted and both a National and Provincial Butternut Recovery Team are in place. RVCA will work closely with these teams to try to ensure this valuable and unique part of our natural heritage is not lost in the forests of eastern Ontario.
 Butternut Recovery Program Objectives
- Inform and educate landowners on the endangered status of Butternut and encourage them to maintain their healthy Butternut trees.
- Locate and map mature Butternut trees that are showing signs of putative resistance and store information gathered in a seed source database.
- Distribute Butternut seedlings to numerous private and public landowners throughout eastern Ontario to assist in keeping Butternut on the landscape.
- Monitor survival and health of planted Butternut seedlings each fall through volunteer reporting by the landowners.
- Reassess all Butternut trees that are showing signs of putative resistant and forecast potential seed crops from those trees that continue to exhibit signs of resistance.
- Collect leaves from putatively resistant Butternut trees to test for hybridization.
- Collect scions from putatively resistant pure Butternut and initiate a long term grafting program to save genetic material for future breeding of resistant seedlings.
 Winter / Spring / Summer 2009
- Collected and grafted scion material from 5 putatively resistant pure Butternut trees in the database.
- Reassessed all putatively resistant trees in the database for canker infection in June/July 2009.
- Informed landowners of the new Endangered Species Act (ESA 2007) and assisted those who want to legally harvest unhealthy Butternut by performing a Butternut Health Assessment (BHA).
- The seed source database now holds the locations and descriptions of 450 healthy mature Butternut trees for future seed collection. 24 of those trees show the promise of disease resistance.
- Secured a 2 hectare piece of crown land at the back of the Ferguson Forest Centre for an Eastern Ontario Butternut Archive site. An 8’ wildlife fence has been erected with signs to announce the site.
Future Timetable
- Encourage landowners to become involved in the recovery effort by: • allowing the Butternut Recovery Technician to visit their site to assess any Butternut trees for putative resistance • planting Butternut seedlings
- Continue to search for Butternut trees that are showing signs of resistance.
- Inform landowners of the new Endangered Species Act (ESA 2007) and encourage them to maintain their healthy Butternut.
- Perform yearly health assessments on all putatively resistant trees in the database.
- Collect leaf samples from newly located trees that are showing signs of resistance and test for hybridity.
- Forecast and collect seeds from the putatively resistant Butternut trees from the database for further trials.
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